Method for optimizing piezoelectric surface asperity detection sensor

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for sensing the vibrational response of a slider of predetermined dimensions during contact with one or more surface asperities on a recording surface, separating the response into its individual bending mode frequency component responses, determining one or more bending mode frequency responses which display monotonic behavior with increasing asperity interference, and designing a mode selection sensor optimized to detect the monotonic bending mode frequency identified. The mode enhanced sensor is designed by first analyzing the stress distribution of the slider corresponding to the monotonic bending mode frequency, identifying regions of the slider which experience substantially positive or substantially negative stress, and partitioning the upper conductive layer of a piezoelectric sensor to form a partitions corresponding to each of the identified regions. The sensor may be further enhanced by tailoring the partitions to exclude undesirable stress contributions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus forsurface analysis of a recording surface. In particular, it relates to amethod and apparatus for optimizing a piezoelectric contact detectionsensor to provide a monotonic response with increasing asperityinterference.

2. Background

In a conventional magnetic storage drive, an air bearing slider supportsa magnetic transducer in close proximity to a relatively movingrecording surface. The recording surface typically comprises a rigiddisk coated with a layer of magnetic material applied by a method suchas spin-coating or sputtering. Coated disks must be free of asperitiesto assure long-term reliability and the data integrity at the head todisk interface, since asperities can lead to undesirable slider-diskcontact or "head crash".

Glide height testing is one means for assuring an asperity-free disk. Aslider is flown over the recording disk at a height equal to or belowthe desired data head fly height to analyze impacts between the sliderand the disk surface. The slider includes one or more piezoelectricsensors bonded to an upper surface facing away from the recordingsurface. Piezoelectric materials are used because they generate anelectric charge in response to internal stress. As the sliderexperiences rigid body displacement and flexural deformation, theadjacent sensor responds by generating a charge signal which may bemonitored.

A dominant practice in the art has been to monitor the low frequencypiezoelectric signals corresponding to rigid body displacement andindicative of slider contact with large asperities on the disk surface.But as sliders decrease in size, magnetic transducers become vulnerableto relatively small asperities. Experience among those skilled in theart has shown a class of asperities (e.g. disk delaminations) that aretoo small to cause head crashes, yet large enough to result inslider-disk contact adversely affecting device reliability. This classof asperities generates high frequency vibrations in the test sliderwhich cannot be detected adequately by conventional means.

The optimal sensitivity to small disk asperities is obtained bymonitoring the high frequency vibrations of a test slider. Yet the highfrequency components, or bending mode frequencies, of the responsesignal may vary greatly. Many modes display a non-monotonic responsewith increasing asperity interference height, i.e. the distance betweenthe tip of an asperity and the minimum slider fly height. Non-monotonicmodes indicate the occurrence of disk contact but provide no usefulinformation about the size of the asperity causing contact.

The trend in recent years has been to produce storage systems havingsmaller sliders than the conventional "large" or "100%" sliders (e.g. 4mm long by 3.2 mm wide). Reductions in slider size necessitate acorresponding reduction in test slider dimensions for equivalentcompliance to the recording surface. This reduction results in a weakerpiezoelectric signal and poor signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. S/N ratio hasalso been shown to decrease with decreasing glide height. Thus,optimizing test slider sensitivity becomes increasingly important forsmaller slider designs.

It is therefore desirable for a slider of predetermined size and flyheight to identify one or more high frequency bending modes displayingmonotonic behavior with increasing asperity interference. To that end,it becomes necessary to analyze the various bending mode frequenciesindividually. One method for isolating bending mode components is toelectronically filter the high frequency signal generated by thepiezoelectric sensor. But such filtering requires several filteringstages and becomes difficult with low signal to noise ratios.

One alternative to electronic filtering is to select a sensor designwhich facilitates the separation and/or detection of signal componentsof different frequencies. U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,802 describes apiezoelectric slider for isolating the low frequency components of atest slider signal. The apparatus comprises a slider having fourpiezoelectric transducers positioned on its upper surface facing awayfrom the disk. Two sensors are positioned at the leading edge and two atthe trailing edge. Independent examination of the low-frequency outputsignal from each transducer enables one to identify the componentscorresponding to pitch, roll, and vertical acceleration. This patentdoes not address analysis of high-frequency bending modes, and the headis both costly and complex to manufacture.

An IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin article entitled "EfficientPiezoelectric Glide Transducer for Magnetic Recording Disk QualityAssurance", Vol. 34, No. 4A, Sep. 1992, describes a test slidercomprising two piezoelectric transducers disposed on the upper surfaceof a slider about its longitudinal axis. Each half is oppositely poledwith respect to the other. The arrangement increases the sensor'ssensitivity to three low-frequency bending modes indicative of sliderrigid body motion. Again, detection of the high frequency bending modesis not discussed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,447 discloses a piezoelectric sensor comprising one,two or four layers of stacked laminae, each layer responsive to adifferent bending mode frequency. The disclosed apparatus does not teachthe selection of a monotonic high frequency bending mode for smallasperity detection in glide height testing.

What is needed, for a slider of predetermined size and fly height, is amethod and apparatus for analyzing the high frequency components of atest slider response during small asperity contact to identify one ormore optimal high frequency bending modes displaying monotonic behaviorfor increasing asperity interference height. Additionally, what isneeded is a method for designing a piezoelectric sensor optimized todetect the identified mode. Sensor optimization must be balanced with aconsideration of manufacturing complexity and costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for optimizing the performance ofpiezoelectric head-disk interaction detection sensors.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for designing an optimized piezoelectric interaction detectionsensor for the detection of small surface asperities at a mechanicalinterface.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a test sliderfor detecting small asperities at the slider-disk interface of a diskdrive system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for identifying a high frequency vibration mode of a sliderwhich is monotonic with increasing asperity interference height at theslider-disk interface.

Another object of the present invention is to sense and isolate thehigh-frequency responses of a test slider flying over a magneticrecording disk to identify bending mode frequencies having a monotonicresponse to increasing asperity interference height.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide, for a sliderof predetermined size and flying height, a piezoelectric sensor designoptimized to detect a predetermined monotonic high frequency bendingmode response of the slider.

Although the invention is described with reference to magnetic recordingdisks, it should be understood that the method and apparatus disclosedmay be applied to other systems in which reliable mechanical interfacesare desirable without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description ofthe preferred embodiments, with reference to the accompanying figures ofthe drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing the steps of the optimizing method ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a slider mounted with a piezoelectricsensor;

FIG. 3(a) shows the rigid body displacement experienced by a slider dueto impact with a surface asperity;

FIG. 3(b) shows the out-of-plane deformations experienced by a sliderdue to impact with a surface asperity;

FIGS. 4(a)-(e) show the out-of-plane modal displacements of a slidercorresponding to five bending mode frequencies;

FIGS. 5(a)-(e) show the surface stresses of a slider corresponding tofive bending mode frequencies;

FIGS. 6(a)-(b) are plane and side views, respectively, of the preferredmodal sensor for a large slider;

FIG. 7 (a)-(b) are plane and side views, respectively, of the preferredmodal sensor for a slider with space limitations;

FIG. 8(a) is a side view of the modal sensor structure of FIGS. 6 (a)and 6(b) at the time of first contact with a surface asperity;

FIG. 8(b) is a side view of the modal sensor of FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) atthe time when contact with a surface asperity is lost;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of the preferred signal processing logicused in the method of the present invention;

FIGS. 10(a)-(c) represent the slider response to asperity contact, thepower spectrum of the response, and the power spectrum of the sliderresponse without asperity contact for the first bending mode of aslider;

FIGS. 11(a)-(c) represent the slider response to asperity contact, thepower spectrum of the response, and the power spectrum of the sliderresponse without asperity contact for the second and third bending modesof a slider;

FIGS. 12(a)-(c) represent the slider response to asperity contact, thepower spectrum of the response, and the power spectrum of the sliderwithout asperity contact for the fourth bending mode of a slider;

FIGS. 13(a)-(c) represent the slider response to asperity contact, itspower spectrum, and the power spectrum of the slider without asperitycontact for the fifth bending mode of a slider;

FIGS. 14(a)-(b) are plane and side views, respectively, of analternative modal sensor for a slider with space limitations;

FIG. 15 is a graphical representation of the slider modal responses forincreasing slider interference heights;

FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) show a preferred embodiment of an optimized modalsensor for detecting the fifth bending mode of a large slider; and

FIG. 17 is a graphical representation of the sum and difference signalsobtained for increasing asperity interference for the optimized sliderof FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b).

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Accordingly, the present invention is a method and apparatus fordesigning an optimized modal sensor for a slider having particulardimensions. The final sensor design is optimized to detect a bendingmode frequency with a monotonic response to increasing surface asperityinterference (for small asperities). The method involves 1) identifyingthe bending mode frequencies for a particular slider, 2) monitoringthose frequencies for increasing or decreasing asperity interference todetermine which provides the most desirable (i.e. monotonic) response,and then 3) selecting a sensor design which facilitates detection ofthat bending mode but is also practical from a manufacturing point ofview.

A four-quadrant modal sensor formed from a slab of PZT-5A is thepreferred apparatus for steps 1) and 2), because its symmetry allowsisolation and study of a relatively large number of bending modefrequencies corresponding to a particular slider. The sensor is mountedto a slider having the dimensions of interest. In circumstances wherethe slider under study is too small to accommodate a four-quadrantdesign, one or two two-region sensors are used.

Using a two quadrant sensor limits the number of bending modefrequencies that can be detected, since one can only add or subtract thesignal detected in one region to/from the signal detected in the otherregion to extract frequencies. However, if the bending mode frequenciesisolated with one two-region design (e.g. that shown in FIGS. 7(a) and7(b)) do not display monotonic behavior for increasing asperityinterference, one can isolate other bending modes by using analternative two-region design (e.g. that of FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b)).However, the combined use of these two sensors does not allow isolationof the bending mode frequencies obtained by adding/subtracting thediagonal quadrants of a four-quadrant sensor.

If an isolated bending mode frequency of a slider under study showsmonotonic behavior for increasing asperity interference, then oneproceeds to step 3) to select an optimal sensor design for a sliderhaving the dimensions of interest to enable sensing of that frequency.If the frequency can be isolated using a two-region sensor, this designis selected, since it is easier to manufacture than a four-quadrantsensor. However, if the bending mode can only be isolated byadding/subtracting diagonal quadrants, the more complicatedfour-quadrant design is selected for the slider dimensions under study.Once a design is selected, it can be further optimized to eliminateundesirable signal contributions.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of the optimization method according to thepresent invention. In a first step 11, a slider is suspended over arotating magnetic disk. Contact between the slider and disk ismanifested by high frequency slider vibrations, which are transformedinto an electrical signal by sensing means such as a piezoelectricsensor. Next 12, the sensed electrical signal is processed to identifyits high frequency bending mode components. Once identified, the modesare analyzed over a range of decreasing flying heights to determine themode(s) displaying the most monotonic response to increasing asperityinterference (step 13). The fourth and final step 14 entails designingan interaction detection piezoelectric sensor with enhanced sensitivityto the identified monotonic bending mode component(s). The foregoingsteps shall be described in further detail below.

I. Sensing the Slider Response

As shown in FIG. 2, slider responses are sensed by a sensing structure25 comprising a piezoelectric sensor 21 mounted to a slider 22. Thesensor 21 includes a thin layer of piezoelectric material 23 coated oneach of its two faces with a layer 24, 26 of conductive material. In apreferred embodiment for a "large" or "100%" slider, the piezoelectricmaterial comprises a 0.20 mm slab of commercially available PZT-5Aplated on each surface with a 0.05 mm layer of nickel, although it willbe understood that other suitable piezoelectric and conductive materialsmay also be used. One of the layers 26 is bonded to the upper surface ofa slider 22. The piezoelectric material 23 generates an electric chargesignal in response to internal stresses caused by deformationexperienced in the adjacent slider 22. One of the conductive layers 26is grounded, and the other 24 is electrically coupled to amplifying,processing and monitoring means (not shown).

FIGS. 3(a) and (b) illustrate two types of displacement experienced by aslider 22 as it flies over the rotating disk 30. The disk 30 is movingrelative to the slider 22 in the direction of the arrow 28. Rigid bodydisplacement is indicated by the dashed lines 34, 35 in FIG. 3(a). Suchout-of-plane displacement is generally caused by slider impact with alarge surface asperity 36 or a change in slider acceleration relative tothe disk 30. Flexural deformation or bending is indicated by the dashedlines 37, 38 of FIG. 3(b). Such deformation occurs whenever the slidercontacts a large or small surface asperity 39. Rigid body motiongenerally occurs at much lower frequencies than flexural deformation,and as such is not relevant to the present invention. For smallasperities, the piezoelectric signal from the flexural deformation isdominant.

FIGS. 4(a)-(e) present finite element simulation results for thedisplacement corresponding to the five lowest order vibration modes in alarge slider after impact with a disk asperity. Each mode shape shown inFIGS. 4(a)-(e) corresponds to a particular frequency, sometimes referredto as a "bending mode" frequency. It will be understood that thesesimulation results are also similar to displacements experienced bysliders of smaller dimensions. In each of the figures shown,out-of-plane or normal displacement away from the disk surface (i.e. outof the plane of the page) is indicated by a "+" sign. Similarly,displacement in the direction of the disk surface (i.e. into the page)is shown by a "-" sign. Dashed or modal lines 41-51 delimit regions ofpositive and negative displacement. Numeric values in each delimitedregion represent the normalized local displacement of that region at thepoint shown. For example, in FIG. 4(a), the "1.2" and "+" shown in theupper right-hand region 57 indicate that there is a 1.2 normalizeddisplacement occurring in this position away from the disk surface of1.2. A substantially equal positive displacement occurs at the lowerleft-hand region 58. Similarly, the "-1.2" and "-" shown in the upperleft-hand region indicates that there is a 1.2 normalized displacementtoward the disk in this region. An equal negative displacement occurs inthe lower right-hand region 59. The value "-4.4" at diagonal corners ofthe negatively displaced regions 56, 59 tell an observer that each ofthese regions 56, 59 experiences a normalized displacement of 4.4 at itscorner in the direction of the disk surface.

In addition to out-of-plane displacement, the flexural deformationscorresponding to the bending mode frequencies of a slider 22 generatein-plane components of surface stress. FIGS. 5(a)-(e) show the surfacestresses in the PZT calculated by finite element analysis, correspondingto the out-of-plane bending mode displacements shown in FIGS. 4(a)-(e).Thus each pair of corresponding figures, e.g. FIGS. 4(a) and 5(a),represents a unique flexural bending mode frequency of the 100% or`minislider` (4.0 mm 1×3.2 mm w×0.85 mm h). Similar results can beobtained for sliders having smaller dimensions, e.g. 70% or`microsliders` (2.8 mm 1×2.2 mm w×0.6 mm h), 50-63% or `nanosliders`(2.0-2.5 mm 1×1.7 mm w×0.425 mm h) and 33-25% `picosliders` (1.0-1.3 mm1×1.0 mm w×0.3 mm h). Pairs of values corresponding to points shown foreach mode represent normalized components of stress at that point. Forexample, a positive vertical coordinate such as "43" in region 68 ofFIG. 5(a) indicates a positive stress component σ_(x) along the x-axis.Similarly, a positive horizontal component such as "27" in region 68indicates a positive stress component σ_(y) along the y-axis. Dashedlines 64-67 emphasize the symmetry of surface stress. It should beunderstood that the normalized numeric values shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 areexemplary only, and will vary with slider dimensions. The directions andsymmetry of in-plane and out-of-plane displacements, however, shouldessentially be the same for other sliders.

A preferred embodiment of the mode selection sensor used to isolatebending mode components in a slider response is shown in FIGS. 6(a) and6(b). A piezoelectric sensor 91 is mounted to a slider 80 having aleading edge 81, a trailing edge 82, a hub side 83 and a rim side 84.The sensor 91 comprises a slab of piezoelectric material 92 such asPZT-5A coated with a continuous layer of conductive material such asnickel on each of its lower and upper surfaces. PZT-5A is preferredbecause it provides a relatively large charge output compared to otherpiezoelectric materials such as PVF2. An advantage of this material isthe relation of its charge response to the sum of the in-plane stresses(σ_(x) +σ_(y)) in the piezoelectric layer. This relationship greatlysimplifies the claimed optimization analysis and design process. Itshould be understood, however, that other piezoelectric materials havingsimilar properties may be used. The lower conductive layer 93 of thesensor 91 is continuous and is electrically grounded to port 120 (FIG.9). The upper conductive layer 14 is partitioned into four electricallyisolated regions 85-88 symmetrical about the lateral and longitudinalaxes of the sensor 91. Each quadrant 85-88 is electrically coupled toinput ports 121-124 of a charge amplifier. (See FIG. 9). Thefour-quadrant sensor configuration is selected for the PZT-5A sensorbecause it takes advantage of the symmetries of the in-plane stressesshown in FIGS. 5(a)-(e). In a preferred method, the isolated regions areformed by cutting channels 89, 90 through the conductive layer by asuitable process such as ion milling, chemical etching, reactive ionetching (RIE) or laser ablation. It shall be understood that thefour-quadrant configuration may also be formed on the piezoelectricmaterial 92 by sputtering or chemical vapor deposition through a mask,silk-screening, or other appropriate means.

For sliders with limited space, an alternative mode selection sensor ispreferred and is shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b). The piezoelectric sensor104 comprises a slab of piezoelectric material 106 such as PZT-5A coatedon its upper and lower surfaces with conductive material such as nickel.The lower layer 107 of conductive material is continuous and grounded.The upper layer comprises two electrically isolated regions 101, 102formed by cutting a lateral groove 103 into the conductive material andpreferably into a portion of the piezoelectric material 106 as well.Each region 101, 102 is coupled to an input port of a charge amplifier121-122 (FIG. 9).

II. Isolating the Bending Mode Components

The four-quadrant sensor permits separation of the bending modescharacterized by FIGS. 4 and 5 by subtraction or summation of thesignals generated by each quadrant. For convenience, the quadrants aredesignated as LEH, LER, TEH and TER, according to their respectiveproximities to the Leading Edge Hub rail, Leading Edge Rim rail,Trailing Edge Hub rail and Trailing Edge Rim rail.

As shown in FIG. 8, the slider 80 and mounted four-quadrant sensor 118are suspended over a relatively moving recording surface 112 such as arotating magnetic disk. As the surface 112 moves in the directionindicated by the arrow 116, contact between the slider 80 and a surfaceasperity 111 causes high frequency vibrations in the entire structure117. FIG. 8(a) shows the initial contact at time T1 114, as indicated bya dashed line intersecting the time line 113. FIG. 8 (b) shows therelease from contact at time T2 115. The vibrations resulting from theimpact cause corresponding charge signals to be generated in the fourquadrants of the mode selection sensor 118. These charge signals areelectrically connected to signal processing means such as those shown inFIG. 9. For example, the signal processing means of FIG. 9 includes afirst stage of charge amplifiers 125-128 for receiving input signals121-124, each followed by a variable gain amplifier 129-132. The inputsignals 121-124 correspond to the LER, LEH, TER and TEH sensor regionsshown in FIG. 6(a). Switching arrangements 133-136 at the summingamplifier input permit the selection of add or subtract mode for each ofthe four incoming signals 121-124. In the method of the presentinvention, four independent summing algorithms are used to separate theslider response into its component bending mode signals. The signalcombinations are selected by taking advantage of the symmetry ofcharacteristic piezoelectric surface stresses to cancel out unwantedbending mode frequencies.

The four signal combinations of the present method comprise: 1) thedifference of the signals of the two diagonal quadrants(LEH-LER-TEH+TER), corresponding to the bending mode response shown inFIG. 5(a); 2) the sum of the signals from all four quadrants(LEH+LER+TEH+TER), corresponding to the bending mode responses of FIGS.5(b) and (c); 3) the difference of the hub and rim rail signals(LEH-LER+TEH-TER), corresponding to the bending mode response of FIG.5(d); and 4) the difference of the signals from the leading and trailingend quadrants (LEH+LER-TEH-TER), corresponding to the bending moderesponse of FIG. 5(e). It shall be understood that the described signalprocessing may alternatively be performed by a computer program or otherappropriate means.

For each summing algorithm, a slider response is sensed during contactwith a single robust disk asperity. (See FIG. 8). The processed responseat the summing amplifier output 138 may be provided to viewing meanssuch as a monitor. Next, the power spectrum of the output signal isobtained, e.g. by providing the output 138 of the summing amplifier 137to a power spectrum analyzer. The power spectrum enables one to isolatethe bending mode frequency or frequencies corresponding to the summingalgorithm. Experimental results for each of the four summing algorithmsobtained for a 100% slider are shown in FIGS. 10-13. In each case, a4-quadrant sensor structure was suspended over a particulate disk with asingle, known asperity. As the slider made contact with the asperity,each of the four quadrant responses was provided to processing meanssuch as those of FIG. 9. The processed signal was displayed on amonitor. For example, FIG. 10(a) shows the contact response waveformobtained by taking the difference of the diagonal quadrant signals.Times T1 141 and T2 142, also shown in FIGS. 8(a) and (b), represent thetime of initial slider-asperity contact and the time at which theasperity is released at the slider's trailing edge, respectively. Theprocessed signal was then provided to a spectrum analyzer to obtain itspower spectral distribution, as shown in FIG. 10(b). In addition, thepower spectrum of the slider without contact was obtained forcomparison, as shown in FIG. 10(c). In FIG. 10(b), a peak 143representing the bending mode frequency is found to occur atapproximately 300 kHz.

The waveform shown in FIG. 11(a) was obtained by adding the signalcontributions of all sensor quadrants. The power spectrum of thewaveform in FIG. 11(b) reveals second and third bending mode frequencies144, 145 of approximately 400 kHz and 550 kHz. Again, the power spectrumof the slider without contact is shown in FIG. 11(c) for reference. FIG.12(a) represents the slider contact response component found by takingthe difference of signals at the slider hub and rim sides. FIG. 12(b)indicates a fourth bending mode frequency 146 of roughly 640 kHz.Finally, the waveform obtained by taking the difference of the signalsat the leading and trailing edges of the slider is shown in FIG. 13(a),and fifth and seventh bending mode frequencies 147, 148 of approximately710 kHz and 860 kHz are identified in FIG. 13(b).

For the alternative two-region sensor of FIG. 7, the signal processingis simpler. For convenience, the region proximate to the slider'sleading edge 81 is referred to as LE, and the region at the trailingedge 82 is referred to as TE. This slider geometry permits the isolationof bending modes having modal stress profiles showing either no line ofsymmetry, or symmetry along the slider's lateral axis. For example, thebending mode components characterized by FIG. 5(b) and (c) may beisolated by summing the signals (LE+TE). Subtraction of the signals(LE-TE) isolates the bending mode components characterized by FIG. 5(e).

In the event that none of the isolated bending mode components displaysmonotonic behavior with increasing asperity interference, other bendingmodes may be analyzed by replacing the two-region mode selection sensorwith the four-quadrant embodiment or a two region mode selection sensorsuch as that shown in FIGS. 14(a)-(b). The embodiment of FIGS. 14(a)-(b)is similar to that of FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), comprising a sensor 154mounted on a slider 80. The sensor 154 includes a slab of piezoelectricmaterial 156 such as PZT-5A; an upper layer of conductive material issplit into two regions 151, 152 which are coupled to two ports 121, 122of a charge amplifier (see FIG. 9); and an electrically grounded lowerlayer of conductive material 157. But in contrast to the sensor of FIGS.7(a) and 7(b), a longitudinal groove 153 divides the conductive upperlayer along the slider's longitudinal axis, rather than along itslateral axis, thereby defining hub and rail regions 151, 152. The huband rail regions 151, 152 are referred to as H and R for convenience. Bysubtracting the hub signal from the rail signal (R-H) and taking thepower spectrum of the resulting signal, the bending mode componentcharacterized by FIG. 5(d) is obtained. The bending mode componentscharacterized by FIG. 5(b) and (c) are similarly isolated by summing thesignals (R+H). To obtain the bending mode component corresponding toFIG. 5(a), however, the four-quadrant mode selection sensor of FIGS.6(a) and 6(b) is required.

III. Selecting A Monotonic Response

Once the bending mode frequencies have been identified, each is studiedby the same signal processing means described above to determine whetherany identified mode has a monotonic response with increasing asperityinterference. This analysis may be accomplished in a number of ways. Forexample, the slider's response to contact with a plurality of asperitiesmay be analyzed during a disk spindown. A person familiar with surfaceanalysis testing will understand that spindown testing under thesecircumstances involves monitoring each of the identified bending modefrequency responses for decreasing relative velocity between the sliderand the disk surface, i.e., for decreasing asperity interference height.It should also be readily apparent that conversely, a spin-up test maybe performed and each bending mode frequency response analyzed forincreasing velocities, i.e., for increasing asperity interferenceheight. In a preferred method, the slider response to contact with asingle surface asperity is analyzed over a range of increasing ordecreasing interference heights.

As an example of the latter method, a large slider mounted with the modeselecting sensor of FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) was suspended over a magneticrecording disk FIG. 15 shows the results obtained for the low orderbending modes by plotting the signal power of the slider response (inmillivolts) versus asperity interference height (in nanometers). Theresponse corresponding to the slider vibration modes of FIGS. 5(b) 171(the second lowest order bending mode for this slider), (c) 172 (thethird bending mode) and (e) 173, 174 (the fifth and seventh bendingmodes) are shown. In the preferred "single asperity contact analysis", aspectrum analyzer is used to distinguish the contribution of eachbending mode frequency in the slider response.

The fifth and seventh bending mode frequencies were experimentally foundto be the most suitable candidates for contact detection using a 100%slider. It should be understood that the method of the present inventionis applicable to air-bearing and contact sliders of all dimensions andrail configurations, and that the most suitable bending mode frequencieswill vary with slider characteristics.

IV. Designing the Optimized Sensor

Once the most desirable bending mode or modes have been identified for agiven slider size, the modal stress distribution symmetries shown inFIGS. 5(a)-(e) are used to select a sensor design which facilitatesisolation of the particular mode(s) of interest, while eliminating thecontributions of other modes. For example, the optimized sensor designselected for detection of the fifth bending mode in a large (100%)slider is shown in FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b). One may observe, by revisitingFIG. 5(e), that the sensor of FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) is tailored to matchthe symmetry of the fifth bending mode stress components. The sensorcomprises a slab of piezoelectric material 186 such as PZT-5A havingupper and lower conductive layers. The lower conductive layer 187 iscontinuous and coupled to the grounded port of an electrical amplifierinput. The upper conductive layer is partitioned into two electricallyisolated regions 181, 182. One of the upper conductive regions, e.g.region 181, is electrically coupled to the input port 121 of theamplifier in FIG. 9 with switch 133 in the positive position and theother region, e.g. region 182, is coupled to the input port 122 withswitch 134 in the negative position. The regions 181, 182 are formed,for example, by first applying a continuous layer of conductive materialsuch as nickel or gold to the upper surface of the piezoelectric layer186, and then etching a lateral groove 183 (e.g. by chemical etching,laser etching, or RIE) through the conductive layer and a portion of theslab 186. The sensor is mounted to a slider by conventional means suchas bonding, and suspended over a surface by suspension means 188. Thedesign shown in FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) facilitates the detection of thefifth and seventh bending mode frequency responses by subtractingsignals generated by regions 181, 182. All lower order modes areeliminated during the subtraction.

In the preferred optimization method, the optimized mode selectionsensor is further enhanced by dividing the upper conductive layer intoregions 181, 182 wherein the sum of the stress components in each regionis substantially positive or negative. For example, in FIG. 5(e), onecan see that the stress components of the upper region 72 aresubstantially negative, and that the components of the lower region 73are substantially positive. Nevertheless, there are positive components74 near the vertical edges of region 72. Similarly, there are negativecomponents 75 near the vertical edges of region 73. As previously noted,the charge response of PZT-5A is governed by the sum of the in-planestresses in the piezoelectric layer. It is therefore desirable tominimize detection of these components 74, 75. Such minimization isaccomplished by removing portions of each conductive region 181, 182.Precise tailoring of the regions 181, 182 around the undesirablecomponents may be impractical from a manufacturing standpoint. Thepreferred approach is to balance the optimal enhanced sensor design withease of manufacture. By applying this balanced approach, the sensordesign of FIG. 16(a) has been enhanced by removing straight portions184, 185 of the conductive regions 181, 182 along the sensor's lateraledges. Removal of the straight portions eliminates detection of asubstantial number of undesirable stress contributions. It should beunderstood that in some circumstances, a more perfectly tailored sensormay be desirable despite manufacturing complexity. It should further beunderstood that the enhancement approach just described is applicable toall optimized mode selection sensors.

The substantially positive region 181 of FIG. 16(a) is connected to oneinput port of an amplifier, and the substantially negative region 182 isconnected to the other amplifier input. FIG. 17 shows the contactresponses obtained by taking the sum 191 and the difference 192 of thesignals detected in each region of the enhanced mode selection sensor ofFIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) for single asperity contact versus interferenceheight. As can be seen, the difference signal 192 from which the fifthand seventh bending modes are obtained is substantially monotonic forincreasing asperity interference.

An optimized mode selection sensor and method for making the same areclaimed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/174,948 filedconcurrently herewith.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific embodiments, it should be understood that numeroussubstitutions and variations can be made in the optimization process,the mode selection sensor design, sensor enhancement and manufacturewithout departing from the true nature and scope of the presentinvention which is set forth in the following claims. In particular,this design methodology includes application to all smaller sizesliders.

We claim:
 1. A method for analyzing a mechanical surface, comprising thesteps of:mounting a first piezoelectric sensor to a slider ofpredetermined dimensions, said first piezoelectric sensor including fourelectrically isolated sensor regions symmetrical about the lateral andlongitudinal axes of said first piezoelectric sensor; suspending saidslider over a relatively moving surface having at least one asperitythereon, wherein contact between said slider and said asperity causesflexural vibrations in said slider; sensing said flexural vibrations ineach of said electrically isolated sensor regions; for each sensorregion, producing a response signal corresponding to said sensedflexural vibrations, each response signal including a plurality offlexural bending mode frequency components; and processing each of saidsensor region response signals simultaneously to isolate at least oneflexural bending mode frequency component therefrom.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said processing further comprises the steps ofmonitoring each of said isolated bending mode frequency components forincreasing asperity interference to identify at least one bending modefrequency displaying substantially monotonic behavior.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein said processing further comprises the steps of:addingthe response signals generated by a first diagonal pair of saidelectrically isolated regions to obtain a first signal; adding theresponse signals generated by a second diagonal pair of saidelectrically isolated regions to obtain a second signal; and subtractingsaid second signal from said first signal to obtain a bending modefrequency component.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising thestep of obtaining a power spectrum of said bending mode frequencycomponent to determine its frequency.
 5. The method of claim 2, whereinsaid processing further comprises the steps of:adding the responsesignals generated by a first pair of said electrically isolated regionsdisposed on the same side of said lateral axis to obtain a first signal;adding the response signals generated by a second pair of saidelectrically isolated regions disposed on the other side of said lateralaxis to obtain a second signal; and subtracting said second signal fromsaid first signal to obtain a bending mode frequency component.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising the step of obtaining a powerspectrum of said bending mode frequency component to determine itsfrequency.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein said processing furthercomprises the steps of:adding the response signals detected in a firstpair of said electrically isolated regions disposed on the same side ofsaid longitudinal axis to obtain a first signal; adding the responsesignals detected in a second pair of said electrically isolated regionsdisposed on the other side of said longitudinal axis to obtain a secondsignal; and subtracting said second signal from said first signal toobtain a bending mode frequency component.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising the step of obtaining a power spectrum of saidbending mode frequency component to determine its frequency.
 9. Themethod of claim 2, wherein said processing further comprises the step ofadding the response signals detected in each of said electricallyisolated regions to obtain at least one bending mode frequencycomponent.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step ofobtaining a power spectrum of said first bending mode frequencycomponent to determine its frequency.
 11. The method of claim 2, whereinsaid signal processing further comprises the step of monitoring each ofsaid bending mode frequency components for decreasing relative velocitybetween said slider and said surface.
 12. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid piezoelectric sensor is mounted to a 100% slider.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said slider is of dimensions smaller than a 100%slider.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein said slider is of one of thefollowing sizes with respect to a 100% slider: 70%, 63%, 62%, 50%, 33%and 25%.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein said first piezoelectricsensor further comprises a slab of PZT-5A including an electricallygrounded lower conductive layer and an upper conductive layer, saidupper conductive layer being partitioned to form said four electricallyisolated sensor regions, each of said four electrically isolated sensorregions being electrically coupled to an input port of an electricalamplifier.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein said upper and lowerconductive layers comprise nickel.
 17. The method of claim 15, whereinsaid four sensor regions are defined by first and second intersectinggrooves etched through said second layer of conductive material alongthe lateral and longitudinal axes of said slab, respectively.
 18. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:determining a stressdistribution corresponding to said identified bending mode frequency;identifying at least one region of substantially positive stress in saidstress distribution; identifying at least one region of substantiallynegative stress in said stress distribution; and for a secondpiezoelectric sensor comprising a slab of piezoelectric material havingan upper and a lower conductive layer, partitioning said upperconductive layer into at least two electrically isolated partitions,each partition corresponding to one of said identified regions ofsubstantially positive or negative stress, thereby forming apiezoelectric sensor optimized for sensing flexural vibrations of aslider of said predetermined size.
 19. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising the steps of:identifying at least one area of negative stressin each identified region of substantially positive stress; identifyingat least one area of positive stress in each identified region ofsubstantially negative stress; and removing from each partitioncorresponding to a region of substantially positive stress a portioncorresponding to each identified area of negative stress; and removingfrom each partition corresponding to a region of substantially negativestress a portion corresponding to each identified area of positivestress.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein said signal processingfurther comprises the steps of:adding the response signals generated bya first diagonal pair of said electrically isolated regions to obtain afirst signal; adding the response signals generated by a second diagonalpair of said electrically isolated regions to obtain a second signal;subtracting said second signal from said first signal to obtain a firstbending mode frequency component; adding the response signals detectedin each of said electrically isolated regions to obtain second and thirdbending mode frequency components; adding the response signals generatedby a third pair of said electrically isolated regions disposed on thesame side of said longitudinal axis to obtain a third signal; adding theresponse signals generated by a fourth pair of said electricallyisolated regions disposed on the other side of said longitudinal axis toobtain a fourth signal; subtracting said fourth signal from said thirdsignal to obtain a fourth bending mode frequency component; adding theresponse signals detected in a fifth pair of said electrically isolatedregions disposed on the same side of said lateral axis to obtain a fifthsignal; adding the response signals detected in a sixth pair of saidelectrically isolated regions disposed on the other side of said lateralaxis to obtain a sixth signal; subtracting said sixth signal from saidfifth signal to obtain fifth and seventh bending mode frequencycomponents; and obtaining a power spectrum for each of said bending modefrequency components to determine its frequency.
 21. The method of claim20, wherein said monitoring further comprises the steps of monitoringeach bending mode frequency component to identify at least one monotonicbending mode frequency for increasing asperity interference.